


His Father's Eyes

by WingsofaBird



Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-02
Updated: 2020-05-02
Packaged: 2021-03-15 13:07:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28564041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WingsofaBird/pseuds/WingsofaBird
Summary: Obi-wan and Ahsoka cope with the aftermath of Order 66. One-shot.
Kudos: 3





	His Father's Eyes

"Master Kenobi?" Ahsoka whispered cautiously, her voice sounding loud and harsh in the near-deserted halls of the medical facility. She heard no response. She ran her thumbs along her saber hilts, fingering the buttons, knowing full well that this could be a trap, that Master Kenobi might not be there at all. Then a child's wail stopped her in her tracks. Carefully, hesitantly, she peeked around the corner where the wail was coming from.

And there he was.

He looked up as she came around the corner, his expression wary, but the moment he realized it was her, his face melted into exhausted relief.

"Ahsoka, you survived," he said softly.

She nodded. "With some help from Rex."

"Rex? Didn't he turn on you with the others?"

"He did at first, but then we got his inhibitor chip out." Both spoke in hushed tones, as though afraid of being overheard. Ahsoka approached Obi-wan and looked down into the baby's face, tiny and wrinkled and red.

"Is it his?" she asked, not trusting her voice to speak his name. Obi-wan nodded, holding the child out to her. She just shook her head, a nameless terror gripping her heart. "How is Padmé?"

Obi-wan couldn't meet her eyes. "She's gone, Ahsoka."

Her heart plummeted. "No. Not her, too."

"She's just in the other room if you'd like to say goodbye," he said. "They're preparing her body for transport to Naboo so she can be laid to rest."

Ahsoka moved past him into the delivery room, where Padmé lay, still and pale, dressed in a pristine white smock. Obi-wan stood in the doorway watching, bouncing Luke absentmindedly, as Ahsoka looked into her peaceful face.

"How did it happen?" she asked, her voice flat and lifeless.

Obi-wan didn't have the heart to burden her with the truth: how Anakin had turned on her, how the last time she'd seen him had been him choking her into unconsciousness, how she had died still believing there was good in him. "She died in childbirth," he replied. "The medical team couldn't save her."

"What will happen to the baby?"

"She gave birth to twins," he said.

"Twins?" She turned to face him, eyes wide.

"Yes. Luke and Leia," Obi-wan replied. "Senator Organa has offered to raise Leia as his own on Alderaan. I'm taking Luke with me to Tatooine, where Anakin had family. I'll watch over him there."

Ahsoka nodded, turning back to Padmé. "She would have been a wonderful mother," she said, her voice cracking in spite of herself.

"Yes, she would have been," Obi-wan said, coming to stand beside Ahsoka.

Ahsoka folded her arms tightly as though trying to hold herself together. "And Anakin…" Tears choked her voice off.

"He would have made a great father," Obi-wan said, believing it with every fiber of his being. "Those children would have never felt unloved."

She nodded, swallowing her tears back. "You'll tell Luke about his parents, won't you?"

"Of course," Obi-wan replied, though he knew it was dangerous for Luke to know too much.

She turned to face him and held her arms out for Luke, who Obi-wan gently handed over. She cradled him against her body, and the warmth in his tiny form seemed to touch the part of her that had died along with Anakin and the other Jedi. A tiny smile touched her lips as she brushed her fingers against his wrinkled, blotchy cheek. His eyes opened a crack, and she caught a glimpse of blue. "He has his father's eyes," she murmured, half to herself. He squirmed in her arms, and she rocked him gently, swaying back and forth, her gaze fixed on his little face.

"Keep him safe, Master Kenobi," she said, tears gathering in her eyes. "He probably has some of his father's recklessness, so it might not be easy." The two shared a half-hearted chuckle.

"I will," he said. "Though with luck, he inherited some of his mother's good sense as well."

"I'm sure he'll be the best of them both," she replied, stroking the wispy strands of hair plastered to Luke's forehead. "As well as Leia." Then she handed him back to Obi-wan reluctantly, brushing his cheek with her finger one last time before straightening. "I should probably go."

Obi-wan nodded, and she turned to leave, her back rigid and her steps heavy. "Ahsoka," he said, gently laying Luke down. She turned, one eyebrow raised in a question. He stepped towards her and wrapped his arms around her, one hand on the back of her head and the other on her back. She stiffened, uncertain how to respond, then hesitantly put her arms around him, slowly relaxing into the embrace. She choked a sob back, her whole body shaking, and Obi-wan held her closer, his heart breaking for the young woman. She buried her face in his chest and started sobbing, her shoulders shaking. Tears gathered in Obi-wan's eyes, the consuming pain he'd held at bay for so long threatening to break through. They had both lost so much that day, and they were about to lose each other. He could feel her tears soaking into his tunic, but it hardly mattered. It was ruined anyway.

She pulled away slowly, rubbing the tears from her face and straightening. Obi-wan squeezed her shoulder gently, and she brought her hand to his, offering a small, broken smile. "I have something for you," Obi-wan said, and reached into a pouch on his belt. He lifted a short string of beads out and pressed them into her hand. She fingered them, each bead as familiar to her as the markings on her lekku. Her eyes filled with tears, but she bit them back.

"Thank you, Master Kenobi," she said softly.

"You're welcome, Ahsoka," he replied. "May the Force be with you."

"May the Force be with you, too."


End file.
